Spring 2023 - 42

COMING TO LIFE
and I would not want to overgeneralize, as the customer has
different preferences within each group. Your religious buyer
is different than your secular, for example. We take the time
to understand our key account customer's buying habits.
That way, we can produce trend savvy product for our retail
customers ahead of the curve.
But as an overall generalization, both groups prefer different
art. For the millennial, we may use more trend-forward,
contemporary art vs. a more traditional scene for the boomer.
They are at different stages, so the boomer may be more
focused on sympathy and thinking-of-you messaging, while
the millennial is celebrating birthdays and weddings. The
boomer might go for a double-entendre message, but the
millennial prefers a more direct, edgier message.
Q. What types of clients do you provide private label
services for, and what have you developed for them?
A. We provide both curated and private label services for
retail chains and distributors. Our strength is both in our
design team and in our art catalog that goes back 28 years.
We have developed strong relationships with the artists and
licensors that we use around the world, and it shows in the
catalog we use when creating lines for our customers. Our
extensive art collection allows us to put together a product
mix that you will not find at another retailer down the street
who also might be a CPG customer. We have chains as small as
thirty-eight rooftops that take advantage of this program. We
can work with both small regional retailers all the way up to
national accounts.
With another customer, we create an individual card
program. We sit down each year and build a line just for
them by understanding the buyer's desire and the end
consumers' preferences.
This is the heart of our company and brand: sitting down
with retail chain buyers and creating something unique. We've
done it with puzzles, cards, stationery and other products. If
it involves art on paper or other substrates, we can design
and produce a successful program. Many of our customers
have been with us for 10 or more years because we focus on
understanding who their customer is and what they want, then
designing a program that meets the end user's desire.
Q. In which market segment you see the most growth?
A. Currently, we are experiencing robust growth in
faith-based products. There has been attrition in this
market since the large customers like Lifeway and Family
Christian bookstores declared bankruptcy. This has opened
opportunities for the independent bookstore and online store.
We recently signed Noble Marketing in late 2022 to call on the
independent faith-based stores nationally. Before that, we
only really sold to distributors. We now have representation
in all 50 states and have been focused on expanding our
offerings in our Shared Blessings line. We found the buyer did
not go away, they just shifted their buying patterns. So instead
of going to Family Christian, they now go online to places like
Christianbooks.com, Walmart and Amazon, or buy locally
from church bookstores and independents.
42 Spring 2023 | STATIONERY TRENDS
Top: HighStreet Stationery. Bottom: Shared Blessings.
Q. Can you provide a peek of any '23 releases across brands?
A. Based on the success of our special finish Christmas
assortments, we are adding special finish everyday
assortments to our Shared Blessings line this spring.
We are adding New International Versed (NIV) cards to our
Shared Blessings line. While KJV (King James Version) is strong,
we realized that about 20% of the market prefers NIV, and we
are expanding the line to meet that need later this summer.
We are reimagining the special-finish offerings in the
Crown Point Graphics brand. It was due for a refresh, and
we plan to bring that out towards the end of this year. We are
thinking about entering the children's puzzle market this year
as we continue to grow our puzzle presence. Finally, we will
continue to do what we do best, which is innovate by finding
and licensing new designs within our curated/private label
program for chain retail.
Q. Is there anything else you would like to share?
A. For a team of eight people, I am amazed at how many
different beautiful items we can create. We believe that
stationery is more than just ink on paper, but foundational
to building a connection, whether to your ideas and thoughts
with a planner, or with another person with a card. Art
should bring a smile - and when it does, it lifts the spirit and
connects the soul.S T
http://www.Christianbooks.com
Spring 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Spring 2023
